The present disclosure relates to a user interface and to a process to assist a user in the movement of a touch-sensitive operator control unit. The present disclosure also relates to the assistance of a driver of a vehicle during the operation of a vehicle-based operator control unit while driving the vehicle.
The prior art describes operating systems for operator control units that use display contents in which information/contact units (also called “buttons” or “tiles”) are displayed next to one another to launch an associated function. These tiles can occasionally be rearranged in relation to one other in response to a request from a user. Examples of generic operating systems are Windows 8™ as well as the Samsung Galaxy S4's™ Airview™. In addition, it is also conventional (e.g. when using an Internet browser) to acknowledge mouse clicks with an acoustic acknowledgment tone (“click”). In addition to key-based input units, “touch screens” (touch-sensitive displays) have also become common for the operation of operator control units of vehicles and smartphones.
WO 2009/062677 A2 discloses a multimodal user interface of a driver information system for the input and presentation of information in which the presence of one of user's fingers in an area in front of a predefined screen area results in the triggering of a function of the user interface. In this case, without the user being in contact with the operator control unit, the presence of the finger is detected and associated with a specific screen content, so that a context-specific function is launched by this operating step, which is also called “hovering”.
In particular during the discharge of the driving tasks by the user and on an uneven roadway, however, entry by hovering takes some getting used to, because the user's vision is directed primarily toward the road and the unevenness of the roadway can lead to unintentional relative movements between the user's hand and the operator control unit.
There is a need in the art to assist a user during hovering in front of an operator control unit.